The 5th pick closed his first Summer League with a career night and a clear picture of how his rookie season needs to work.
Keaton Wagler's first taste of NBA basketball started about as rough as it could have.
The 5th overall pick shot 1 for 7 in his Summer League debut against the Kings, and some fans were ready to slap a label on him after one night.
Four games later, the 19-year-old out of Illinois left Las Vegas with the best scoring line of his young career and a much clearer idea of what comes next.
Wagler bounced back with 23 points against the Jazz, including an 18-point third quarter, then added 16 against the Lakers before the Los Angeles Clippers rested him in the win over Washington.
He saved his best for Friday's finale, pouring in a game-high 26 points on 9 of 19 shooting as the Clippers outlasted the Timberwolves 128-120 in overtime, setting a Summer League record with 128 points and finishing their Vegas stay at 3-2.
Los Angeles led by as many as 27 in the third quarter before Minnesota stormed back with a 41-point fourth, and Sean Pedulla scored the first nine points of overtime to put the game away.
Studying the Right Players
Between games, Wagler opened up about how he has been preparing for the jump, telling The Athletic he studies Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Tyrese Haliburton because of how they get to their spots.
"I think Tyrese Haliburton is a good person to watch for me because the pace that we both play," Wagler said.
The more revealing part came when he talked about his actual role. With Darius Garland running the offense, the rookie knows his usage will look nothing like it did at Illinois.
"I won't have the ball as much with Garland," Wagler said. "But learning, playing off of him and building chemistry with my teammates is what I need to do."
Why the Finale Mattered
After a debut that raised real questions about his physicality, Wagler attacked more than he had all summer and took the most shots of any game in Vegas, absorbing contact without backing down.
He finished his four appearances averaging 18 points per game, and the arc from that opening dud through the 23-point response against Utah said plenty about how he handles adversity.
The physical part of his game still needs real work, and he knows it.
The Clippers finished 42-40 last season and are counting on Garland, Brandon Ingram, and their veterans to carry the load, which gives Wagler room to grow into things without pressure to save the franchise on opening night.
A rookie who already understands that, and who responds to failure the way he did in Vegas, is exactly the foundation piece a franchise hopes it drafted at five.
